London Bridge inquest: Nurse killed as she helped other victim

Image caption
Kirsty Boden, 28, from Australia, was working as a senior nurse at Guy’s Hospital

A young woman was killed in the London Bridge attack after she ran to the aid of another victim, telling her friends, “I’m a nurse, I have to go and help”, an inquest has heard.

Kirsty Boden, 28, was stabbed in the head as she knelt over restaurant waiter Alexandre Pigeard as he lay dying, the Old Bailey heard.

Footage of her being set upon was shown at the inquest into the deaths of those killed in the London Bridge attack.

Eight people died on 3 June 2017.

Australian Ms Boden, dubbed the “angel of London Bridge”, had been out for a meal with two friends when she heard the three attackers’ van crash into the railings above and debris falling onto the outside tables.

Gareth Patterson QC, the lawyer for her family, said Ms Boden got up within seconds of the crash.

The off-duty nurse, who worked at Guy’s Hospital, was thinking of others rather than her own safety, he said.

Image copyrightPA

A statement from Ms Boden’s friend, Melanie Schroeder – one of the friends she was dining with – was read out to the jury on Friday.

Ms Schroeder, who had previously asked Ms Boden to be her bridesmaid at her wedding, said: “Kirsty jumped up and said, ‘I’m a nurse. I have to go and help. I need to see if they need help’.

“Kirsty headed off and I thought nothing of it,” she said.

Ms Schroeder said she then remembered hearing screaming and thinking people should calm down because it was “just a crash”.

The friends fled the restaurant with the other diners, and when they returned Ms Schroeder said she saw Ms Boden’s body on the ground, which she recognised “because of her bright pink cardigan”.

Ms Boden, who had suffered stab wounds, was alive but unable to speak, Ms Schroeder said.

Ms Schroeder and a GP tried to revive her friend, while Ms Mooney attempted to find emergency medical help, but Ms Boden died at their side.

Off-duty nurse Helen Kennett told how she asked one of the London Bridge attackers what was wrong with him before he stabbed her in the neck. She survived the attack.

The inquest also heard from British Transport Police constable, Wayne Marques, who previously spoke to the BBC about being the first officer to confront all three of the attackers.

At the inquest, PC Marques told of how he had been on patrol, armed with only a baton, when he ran to the aid of Marie Bondeville, her boyfriend Oliver Dowling, and Richard Livett.

He said he was initially alerted by a woman’s scream and people running up and down Borough High Street.

As he went to investigate, he told the court he was approached by a man running, before finding Richard Livet lying in a pool of blood.

He then noticed a man grabbing Ms Bondeville and told the court how the attacker appeared to punch her three or four times, before she fell to the floor, face down.

PC Marques then described the moment he saw Mr Dowling being stabbed in the neck.

He said: “I got my baton out and charged the first attacker… my intention was to hit him as hard as I could with all my weight behind me with everything I had. I knew he was trying to kill the man on the floor.”

PC Marques said as the first attacker began to “crumble” the officer felt an “almighty blow” to his head – which impaired his vision.

He said: “At this point I saw a knife coming towards me. Through instinctive reaction I defended myself.”

The officer said “a messy fight” ensued with the second attacker, before the third ran over.

Although PC Marques was stabbed multiple times, he said: “My job at that stage was to hold on and keep them fighting until the cavalry arrived.”

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